So as the tittle says I'm new to plug building I have the skills to turn out a pretty nice looking plug on the lathe but destroy it trying to drill a through hole I have been searching the forum and web on ideas to drill the through hole but can't find a simple and effective way to drill multiple styles of plugs the lathe I'm am useing does not have the capability to chuck a bit and my plug as I thought would be the best option so that being said does anyone have a simple and effective way to drill plugs without having custom jigs for each plug any help would be greatly appreciated before I sacrafice more plugs

What would you need pics of the plugs or the tools that I am useing I did manage to get some drilled by useing a 6inch bit and a cordless drill and coming in from both sides till they met somewhere in the middle and cleaned it out with a 12inch bit but getting it started straight is the big killer also used a block of wood with a dowel in it to hold the plug in the drill press but if my hole I use to put the plug on the dowel is not straight I still end up drilling a hole that doesn't run straight through the plug

just saw this. try drilling both ends in a drill press first while the wood is still square. use a 6 inch bit and drill down as far as you can from each side. then after turning decide where you want the belly hook to come out and drill that. then with a hand drill drill in each end until it hits the belly hole if its not there already. now get a 12 inch bit a little bigger than the wire but smaller than the first one you used and go in from each end and you can wiggle it around until it goes in the hole on the opposite side of the belly hole and work it back and forth until it creates a nice path for the thru wire. hope this helps.

just saw this. try drilling both ends in a drill press first while the wood is still square. use a 6 inch bit and drill down as far as you can from each side. then after turning decide where you want the belly hook to come out and drill that. then with a hand drill drill in each end until it hits the belly hole if its not there already. now get a 12 inch bit a little bigger than the wire but smaller than the first one you used and go in from each end and you can wiggle it around until it goes in the hole on the opposite side of the belly hole and work it back and forth until it creates a nice path for the thru wire. hope this helps.

This... in a way. While your plug blank is still just that (a blank... whether square or round) drill a hole in the approximate center in a drill press. Then chuck it up into the lathe using a live center at the far end to approximate it in the middle of your headstock. When you turn it down with the hole you already drilled as your longitudinal axis it will automatically round out based off that axis. Or just buy a tailstock that can accept a drillbit and be done with it all. Make life easy on yourself